Mancini will ask director of football Tkixi Begiristain and chief executive Ferran Soriano to spend in January despite the club announcing losses of £97.9m for the 2011-12 season, down almost 50 per cent from £197.5m in 2010-11.

Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said he was delighted with the progress and praised the ‘personal and ongoing’ influence of owner Sheikh Mansour.

The news will not stop Mancini chasing top target Falcao when the transfer window opens next month.

He has been critical of his strikers this season after watching Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko score just once in more than nine hours of open play.

Falcao has already bagged 19 in 15 games for Atletico Madrid this season, including a hat-trick against Chelsea in the Super Cup and five against Deportivo La Coruna last weekend.

Mancini is aware of growing interest in the striker from Chelsea and Real Madrid, and is eager not to miss out on one of Europe’s hottest properties again after watching Robin van Persie reject the advances of the Premier League champions to sign for neighbours United.

Falcao, who replaced Aguero at Atletico when he moved from Porto for £35m in 2011, is available next month if anyone can match his £48m buy-out clause. His likely £200,000-a-week wage demands could prove a stumbling block with City bosses keen to meet UEFA’s Financial Fair Play guidelines.

If City’s Arab owners grant Mancini the funds to pursue the 26-year-old it would represent a massive show of support for a manager who has come in for criticism after overseeing the club’s second successive failure in the Champions League.

It would also present Mancini with the problem of deciding who to keep at the Etihad Stadium having consistently said he only needs four strikers.

Aguero is a favourite of the City manager and the Italian appears to have buried the hatchet with Tevez following last season’s bust-up, despite dropping him to the bench for big games against Arsenal, Chelsea, United and Real Madrid this season.

Dzeko has scored vital goals as a substitute this season but has struggled to make an impact when picked from the start while Balotelli has been linked with a move back to Italy.

With one eye on the finances, it’s unlikely that Mancini will be allowed to keep all four, plus Falcao, on the bill.

City announced their wage bill had risen from £151.6m to £178.1m last season but overall turnover has risen to £231.1m, the highest in the club’s history.

Revenues have also gone up from £64.7m to £121.1m thanks to huge commercial gains.

The financial report also showed the highest paid director got £850,000, down from £2.08m in 2011.

“The hard work of everyone involved at Manchester City over the last four years has begun to create an obvious momentum,” said Khaldoon.

“However, 2011-12 will always be remembered as a particularly significant year in the history of the Club, a season when Manchester City demonstrated an ability to win in even the most challenging of circumstances.

“It is important to recognise the personal and ongoing influence of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed on the rapid transformation that is taking place.

“In the last two seasons we have tasted victory in the FA Cup, experienced the UEFA Champions League, won the Barclays Premier League and with two goals in added time, redefined what is typical of City for a generation of supporters.

“The responsibility lies with all of us to continue the hard work that will ensure that this is only the beginning of a long and successful era for Manchester City.”

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